


Missed Opportunities

by Jcapasso916



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-25
Updated: 2016-03-25
Packaged: 2018-05-28 23:08:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6349360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jcapasso916/pseuds/Jcapasso916
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Metatron brought Gabriel back to life and he was released from the spell he was under, his first thought was to find the Winchesters. That's not to say that they would be very welcoming.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is another very old story. Again, please don't judge me too harshly. I wasn't very good back then.

Sam and Dean had come to this little town due to the suspicious activity that seemed very familiar to them. And sure enough as soon as they entered the town they were met with the sandy blonde hair and twinkling whiskey colored eyes of a certain archangel/trickster. “Back to your old tricks again Gabriel?” Dean snarked at the little annoying man in front of them. 

Gabriel just smirked, “Well I had to get your attention somehow. Both of you and Cassie are warded against me finding you and all your phone numbers from 5 years ago are disconnected so…” he trailed off with a shrug. 

“So what? You just decided to torture some people so we would come running?” Sam asked scathingly. 

“Ease up Samsquatch. I’ll have you know that all the people I ‘tortured’ as you call it, do far worse and thouroughly deserved every bit of what I threw at them, and hey...no one died this time so no worries.” 

Sam just sighed and shook his head before asking what probably should have been the first question, “How are you even alive?”

“Shall we take this conversation somewhere more comfortable?” Gabriel asked pointing to the motel that they had just pulled into. After Dean had gone to book a room and they piled into it Gabriel sprawled gracefully on the couch putting his feet up and conjuring a bag of skittles. After popping a few in his mouth he proceeded to answer their questions. “Well Metadouche was all hopped up on the angel tablet giving him powers rivaling our father, and brought me back to life for one of his schemes. He found that it wasn’t quite so easy to kill me again after he did so he locked me down tight. I managed to escape in the chaos after he was captured, had to shake a few of his more loyal minions trying to take me out, then I went hunting for hunters,” he said with a grin. 

“Why?” Dean whined, though he would never admit it. The last thing they needed was Gabriel’s tricks in their life, even though the guy had technically died for them. 

“Because you guys are so much fun!” Gabriel said practically bouncing in his seat. He definitely wasn’t going to tell them the real reason he sought them out. He did have some measure of self-preservation, even though antagonizing the Winchesters seemed contrary to that trait. 

Dean just groaned and threw himself backwards on the bed he had been sitting on, but Sam narrowed his eyes at the archangel as though he was trying to figure out a puzzle. It made Gabriel more than uncomfortable…not that he would show it as he met the younger Winchester’s eyes with a mirthful grin of his own, still popping candy in his mouth, one leg swinging off the couch, while his mind was thrown into chaos. 

He thought back to the first time he met them. They were just another set of hunters to throw off his tail, but something about Sam reeled him in. Of course he knew they were vessels for his brothers, but it’s not like they were the first he met. It wasn’t until he found out that Dean had sold his soul for Sam that he was sure, but Father help him, he couldn’t feel anything but grateful to the man for that. He had thought long and hard about his plan. He had to derail this whole apocalypse thing. He couldn’t stand the idea of Sam becoming Lucifer’s vessel, but if he could get Sam to let go and not go all vengeance after Dean was gone, then maybe it could be avoided. Cue the mystery spot debacle. He had seriously underestimated the co-dependency factor between those two, and worst of all, it turned Sam’s mild dislike/indifference to him into pure hate. He could have handled that if only it had worked. He wouldn’t mind being hated if it had saved the hunter from that fate. Then Luci’s box was popped and the Winchesters were in the hot seat, but they just kept rebelling. He knew how it was going to end. He just wanted it to be over with so he could get on with his life and forget about the young hunter that had him so tied up in knots, so he decided to convince them. He should have realized after the mystery spot that they could be so damn stubborn, and then they had to find out his big secret. He fully credited Sam for that idea. Dean wasn’t nearly so smart, even with that little hint that Cassy dropped before he could stop him. More than anything it had been the look of betrayal in Sam’s eyes as they left that warehouse that had galvanized him into action. They had given him another way. Standing up to his brothers would never have crossed his mind. They were stronger than him, bigger than him, and they were doing what they were meant to do. It had never occurred to him to try that route to stop it, and let’s face it, he never would have considered it, even if he had thought about if it hadn’t been for Sam. When they were captured by the pagan gods he couldn’t not try to get them out, and sure he was worried, but that was nothing compared to the sheer terror he felt when his big brother showed up. All he could see in his mind was all the ways that Lucifer could torture Sam into saying yes. He didn’t really give a crap if Lucy destroyed the world, but he couldn’t let him destroy Sam in the process, so he went in and did what Dean had told him to do. He stood up to his brother, never expecting to win, just expecting his death to serve as a distraction for them to escape and carry out the real plan that he had given them. Despite what he said in the DVD, he had faith in them. If anyone could do it they could. Then once he was back alive again, all he could think of was seeing Sam again. Oh he knew that Sam would never see him the way he wanted, but maybe, just maybe he could see him as a friend. The way Sam was looking at him now though, like he was trying to figure out what he was really thinking, made Gabriel very glad that he couldn’t read minds. 

Finally Gabriel couldn’t take it anymore and winked at the hunter, “See something you like?” he asked waggling his eyebrows. Sam huffed and turned away losing his train of thought. 

Dean sat back up glaring at the archangel, “So what you decided to just pop in and mess with our heads like usual to what? Relieve boredom?”

Gabriel snorted. Like this was messing with their heads. “Please,” he rolled his eyes, “Do you see any alternate realities? Dancing girls? Chainsaw killers? Geez. You’d think heroically dying for you would earn a guy a little less hostility.”

“What’s your angle here Gabriel? What do you want with us?” Sam asked frustrated. He hated being part of some game that he didn’t even know he was playing.

“Well that’s a question for another time Sammy,” he said with a playful wink at the hunter who just fixed him with bitchface #27. He adopted an obviously fake wounded puppy look before saying, “Fine. I see when I’m not wanted,” and then he disappeared. 

Sam sighed and looked to Dean. “We should head back to the bunker. Either he is long gone from this town now, or he wants us to chase him for some stupid game.”

Dean just nodded and said, “Yeah. Tomorrow. It’s late and we’ve already paid for the room. Might as well use it.” Neither of them noticed the invisible archangel that watched over them for the night.

Gabriel may have disappeared but he didn’t leave. He had spent too long trying to find them again, he could bear to leave Sam already, and when Sam began having a nightmare about what Gadreel had done in his body, Gabriel just reached out an invisible hand and soothed his mind. If only the guilt Sam felt were as easy to soothe. He just sat next to Sam’s bed and watched him all night, wishing he could just climb into bed with him, but knowing that it was a wish that would forever remain unfulfilled.


	2. Chapter 2

Sam and Dean were halfway back to the bunker the next morning, when Sam’s phone buzzed with a text message. When he reached in to pull it out he found not only the phone but a lollipop in his pocket. Opening the text it read, “miss me yet?”

Sam had no doubt who the message was from so he quickly typed a text back, “I thought you didn’t have our numbers?”

“Trickster remember? Just needed to find you first.” Sam groaned and banged his head against the back of the seat.

Dean looked at Sam like he was going crazy so Sam just told him, “Gabe hacked our phones. He has our numbers now.”

Dean glared at the phone in Sam’s hand before turning and glaring at the road and said, “Son of a bitch.”

 

It was a few days later before they heard from Gabriel again. He appeared in the bunker’s library next to Sam who was reading an ancient tome. He appeared in a sitting position with his feet up on the table next to Sam’s book with a lollipop in his mouth, and just gave an impressed whistle, “Whoa nice place you got here Samsquatch. Warded pretty heavy too. I actually had to put some effort into getting in.”

Sam just muttered under his breath, “not heavy enough apparently,” and didn’t even look up from his book. 

Gabriel, predictably, ignored him and shifted forward to get a look at Sam’s reading material, “The Process of the Wendigo Transformation huh? Interesting read?” He asked making an audible popping sound as he pulled the tootsie roll pop out of his mouth. 

Sam finally looked up at him with one of his famous bitchfaces, “Yes actually, so if you could scamper along and annoy someone else that would be wonderful.” 

Gabriel’s complete control over all visible effects of his vessel, didn’t show the hurt that those words caused and instead just grinned and said, “why Sammy, if I didn’t know any better I’d think that you don’t enjoy my company.” 

Sam again muttered under his breath, “who would’ve thought,” and set his mind to ignoring the pestering archangel, who of course just smirked and accepted the challenge. 

The next second the whole book turned into a collection of dirty limericks. Sam, still intent on ignoring Gabriel in hopes that he would go away, just reached for another book, which was suddenly written in Greek. Sam decided to take that opportunity to just go get some lunch and got up and walked out, not even looking at Gabriel, and made his way to the kitchen for a sandwich. 

Dean, already eating lunch, looked up to greet his brother when he walked in, but stopped short when he saw Gabriel bouncing along happily behind his brother and raised an eyebrow, “Sam…you know…”

Sam cut him off, “I’m aware,” he grumbled. Dean just shrugged and took a page from Sam’s book and tried to ignore the celestial being that was following his brother like a puppy. Just as Sam took a bite of his sandwich, it turned from the turkey and cheese he was eating into tuna, which he really hated, but it was still edible so he wasn’t going to give the archangel the satisfaction of turning him away from his lunch and determinedly keep choking it down. Gabriel decided to up the stakes, and turned it into sardines, which finally had Sam drop the sandwich, and round on Gabriel furiously. 

Dean, not wanting to be in the room when Sam lost his temper, took that opportunity to leave. Gabriel was blocking the door back to the rest of the bunker so he made his escape to the garage.

“What is your problem Gabriel?! Why won’t you just go away?!” Sam roared at him. 

Gabriel just smirked at the young hunter with mischief in his eyes, “Maybe I just don’t want to?”

“Why?” Sam asked pitifully. 

Gabriel decided to have pity on the kid and give him some version of the truth, “Well maybe because the closest things I ever had to friends other than you two died in that hotel five years ago, and because you two and Cassie are the only ones who even knew I was alive and I’d really like to keep it that way,” he said harshly. 

Sam was taken aback at the frank admission coming from the elusive being in front of him. “So you’re…what? Lonely?”

“Geez Sammy, you don’t have to make me sound like some prepubescent girl,” he said rolling his eyes. “Sometimes I just want to be around people who I don’t have to hide from,” he said shrugging it off. 

Sam just sighed wearily, “Yeah I guess I can understand that.” As complicated as it could be having the archangel around, Sam was intimately familiar with the desire to be around people you didn’t have to hide most of your life from. He looked back up at Gabriel only to be distracted by the way he was swirling his tongue around his lollipop. 

Gabriel noticed Sam’s distraction and put the tip of the sucker in his mouth and sucked hard on it. Sam’s breath caught and he tore his eyes away just in time to see Gabriel wink and disappear. Sam ran his hand through his hair and cursed himself for showing such weakness in front of Gabriel. He would never live this down. 

Gabriel, just like last time at the motel, disappeared but didn’t leave. He certainly didn’t want Sam to see the myriad of emotions flit over his face though. Did the hunter really have some form of attraction to him? Obviously he didn’t like him, but he could be the first to tell you that you don’t have to like someone to want to jump their bones. But Sam was into chicks. Gabriel was sure of that. It must have just been the action itself, irrespective of who was doing it. Thoughts settled Gabriel popped back to his apartment. 

 

It was a few days later before Gabriel once again appeared in the library, stretched back in one of the chairs with his feet on the table and a sucker in his mouth. After all, now that he knew Sam’s reaction to it, he would never show up without one again. Sam just sighed when he saw the feet peeking over the book. “I’m sorry Gabriel. I really don’t have the time now. I have to find out what kills a manticore before more people die.”

Gabriel shrugged, “Brass dagger soaked in scorpion venom to the heart will knock it out, then cut off its stinger to kill it. I definitely wouldn’t recommend attempting to cut off the stinger while it’s conscious though.” Sam looked at Gabriel trying to figure out if he was being truthful or not. “I swear Sammich. I wouldn’t joke about something like that.” Gabriel said holding his hands up in surrender. 

“Would a brass bullet with scorpion venom work?” Sam asked hoping that the hunters on the case wouldn’t have to get so close. 

Gabriel frowned thoughtfully, “Never been tried, but it’s possible. Might not be able to get enough venom on a bullet though.”

“Thank you Gabriel,” Sam said with a beaming smile, as he reached for his phone to relay the information. 

Gabriel couldn’t help but smile too in response to Sam’s smile. Hmm. Maybe he should try this helpful thing more often. 

Sam finished his call and turned back to Gabriel, pointedly ignoring the lollipop in his mouth. “Since you saved me hours of research I suppose I can endure your company for a while.”

Sam regretted those words as soon as he said them when faced with the mischievous grin that broke out on Gabriel’s face as he grabbed him and they disappeared from the library. 

When they reappeared on deserted beach Sam, being completely unprepared for angelic travel, lost his balance, but Gabriel tightened his grip on Sam’s arm holding him upright. “What the hell Gabriel! You can’t just abduct me like that!”

“Oh unclench Samsquatch. I left your brother a note.”

Sam sputtered for a moment. “That’s not the point!”

“You’re right. The point is that we are on a gorgeous beach, on a beautiful day, and you’re wasting time being all pissy about it,” Gabriel pouted. 

Sam finally looked around and noticed their location, including the hammock, the stocked wet bar, and the inviting looking water, and he deflated. It was Sam’s turn to pout. “That doesn’t mean its ok to just abduct me with no warning.” He said crossing his arms. 

“Ok. I’ll warn you next time,” Gabriel said with a smirk. 

“I’m not even dressed for the beach,” Sam grumbled, so Gabriel very helpfully snapped his fingers and Sam was dressed in nothing but a pair of black swim trunks. 

“Now you are,” Gabriel said smugly, while enjoying the view of a half-naked Sam, and carefully hiding all visible reactions to the sight from the hunter. 

Sam again sputtered and looked back at Gabriel who just winked at him and said, “Now that I have you out of your clothes, want to go for a swim?”

Gabriel was treated to a full body blush from Sam, and had to work a little harder to control any visible reactions. 

Sam felt very exposed standing there in nothing but a pair of shorts. At least Gabriel was kind enough to make them a modest pair that were loose and hung nearly to his knees, unlike the gold skintight monstrosity that he was wearing. Sam figured that swimming would help that exposed feeling so reluctantly agreed. 

Gabriel grinned and took off running as he said “race you.”

“Cheater” Sam called after him as he began running himself. He easily overtook the crafty angel just before they hit the water, and promptly found himself tackled into the water. 

As he came up for air Gabriel said laughing, “Yeah well I have to cheat to have a chance with your freakishly long legs Samsquatch.” Gabriel began swimming further out before Sam could retort.

He felt Sam closing in behind him and was curious as to what he would do. He found out momentarily as his ankle was grabbed and he was dragged underwater. It seemed that Sam could be playful if he wanted to be. Gabriel broke the surface in time to hear Sam laugh and say, “Careful midget. I think there are trout out here bigger than you.”

Gabriel laughed and splashed Sam, who used his large hands to send a wave at Gabriel. Gabriel just smirked and snapped his fingers as a large wave came from behind Sam and pushed him under. Gabriel wasn’t expecting the arm that wrapped around his waist and dragged him under too. 

They both surfaced gasping for air, and Gabriel started laughing, “Why Sambo, didn’t know you had it in you,” he said with admiration shining through in his voice. 

Sam just shrugged, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” Sam suddenly looked back and noticed how far they had gotten from the shore and got a very worried look on his face. 

When Gabriel saw that he put a hand on Sam’s shoulder and said in what, for him, was a very serious tone, “Its ok. Archangel remember. I won’t let anything happen to you kiddo.” And Sam couldn’t help but trust that and relaxed. Gabriel suddenly perked up and snapped his fingers to reveal two sets of goggles and snorkels. Handing one to Sam he motioned for the tall hunter to follow him. 

They only swam for a couple minutes before Sam saw the family of dolphins playing in the water. They got within about 20 feet of them when Gabriel reached out and grabbed Sam’s arm preventing him from going any further. The dolphins watched them warily for a few minutes before resuming their activities. Sam and Gabriel followed them at a distance for about an hour, before Sam fell back and surfaced, Gabriel following him. 

Sam had a huge grin on his face, “That was awesome!” Gabriel was very pleased with himself for noticing that the dolphins were close by and thinking of following them, and couldn’t help but give a genuine grin himself. “I am getting a little tired though…” Sam trailed off hoping that Gabriel wouldn’t expect them to swim back to shore which by now was barely a speck on the horizon. 

Just as he hoped Gabriel just snapped his fingers and not only were they back on the beach but Sam landed in the hammock, and the surprise of that fact nearly had him spinning out of it, but he righted himself in time to see Gabriel walking over from the wet bar with two drinks. Gabriel contemplated climbing into the hammock next to Sam for a moment, but reasoned that they were having a great time and he didn’t want to push the hunter too far so he just snapped his fingers and another hammock showed up next to it that Gabriel threw himself into with a grin after handing Sam his drink. 

Gabriel was about to say something when he stopped, frowned, and snapped his fingers materializing Sam’s phone and handed it to him while it was ringing. It seemed it was time for reality to intrude.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam gave Gabriel a grateful look for not cutting them off completely, but Gabriel just waved it off. He wanted to cut them off completely, but he knew that it would end up badly if Dean couldn’t get in touch with Sam when he tried. 

“Dean,” Sam said as he answered the phone. 

“Where are you?” Dean demanded.

“I’m…um…” he turned to Gabriel, “Where are we?”

“An undiscovered thus unnamed island just south of Hawaii,” Gabriel replied.

“I thought you were looking up lore on manticores?” Dean said accusingly. 

“Gabe helped me find what I needed, then he abducted me to the beach apparently,” Sam said resignedly. Sam had told Dean about what Gabriel said so he was almost okay with the annoying archangel hanging around. “He said he left a note for you so you wouldn’t worry.”

Dean snorted derisively. “Yeah some note. ‘I have absconded with your brother. You might get him back in one piece.’ And there is just a sigil of some sort for a signature.” Now that Dean knew what had happened he could see the humor in it. He just wasn’t ready to laugh just yet until the adrenaline from his panic left him.

Sam reached over and slapped Gabriel’s chest and he very exaggeratedly said, “Ow what was that for? How was I supposed to know that Dean didn’t know my signature? It’s in every bit of lore about me after all.” The smirk on his face contradicted his words however. 

“Next time I will leave the note,” Sam promised his brother with a glare at the archangel that he better let him.

“There’s going to be a next time?” Dean said incredulously.

Sam just sighed, “I’m resigned to it.”  
Dean couldn’t help but laugh at the utter defeat in Sam’s voice in that statement. “Anyway, you need to get back here. We got a job a couple towns over. Looks like a vengeful spirit.” 

Sam looked to Gabriel who just snapped his fingers and he and Sam appeared next to Dean in the library, still dressed in their swimming close, not totally dry, with fancy looking drinks in their hands, sending Dean into gales of laughter, especially when he noticed how pink Sam was getting. “Gabriel! You could have at least given me my clothes back!”

Gabriel winked suggestively at him, “Maybe I just like you better without clothes?” he drawled as he snapped his fingers both replacing Sam’s clothes and zapping himself back to his apartment in the process. 

Dean finally got his laughter under control, and turned to Sam, “So Sammy, anything I should know about?” he asked suggestively.

“What? No! Absolutely not!” Sam wasn’t even going to go there. “Just more of Gabriel’s games as usual.” Sam assured his brother, because Sam knew that’s all it was. Gabriel certainly didn’t want him that way, and even if he did it would just be as a distraction, a game, and Sam wouldn’t stand for that. 

“Uh-huh” Dean said disbelieving. “Let’s just hit the road bitch.”

“Jerk” Sam said back automatically grabbing his bag and following his brother out to the car. 

 

They arrived in town just after dark and got a room for the night. They would pick up in the morning. Dean, predictably headed out to a bar, but Sam was too exhausted from all the swimming so he just crashed. His dreams were haunted by sandy hair, whiskey eyes, and mischievous smirks. His subconscious mind knew what his conscious mind refused to even consider. That he had feelings for the rebellious archangel from the moment he met him as a janitor. Sam though, wouldn’t remember these dreams when he woke, as he rarely remembered any dreams not associated with hell or being possessed, and wasn’t that just perfect Winchester luck. 

They unfortunately didn’t find out who the ghost was the next day, but they did the day after that. That night they went to the graveyard to salt and burn her bones, but it didn’t exactly go smoothly. Dean came out relatively unscathed, but as Sam was the one providing the distraction while Dean burned the corpse, he ended up getting thrown around quite a bit. Most of his face was black and blue, his lip was split, his shoulder dislocated, which he wasted no time in putting back in place, and he was pretty sure his knee was sprained. All in all, par for the course. 

When Gabriel showed up after they got back to the bunker the next day though, it was obvious that he didn’t think it was par for the course. Sam saw the barely concealed anger in his eyes for just a moment before Gabriel tamped it down and reached out and healed Sam, “Why didn’t you call me you dunce?” He asked playfully, but with a concerned undertone. 

“It’s nothing major, didn’t see the need to bother you,” Sam said as he looked away. 

Gabriel reached over and grabbed Sam’s chin pulling his head back towards him and locking eyes with the hunter. “Next time call me kiddo,” Gabriel said both firmly and gently. 

Sam could only nod, and with that the spell was broken, and Gabriel threw himself back in the chair and said, “So whatcha up to?” with his usual fun-loving twinkle. Inside though, Gabriel was cursing himself for letting too much show. 

Between feeling better from being healed and the show of concern, Sam decided to throw Gabriel a bone and play along, “Why? Planning to abscond with me again?”

The twinkle in Gabriel’s eyes intensified, “Well I was planning on it, but now that you mention it. I wouldn’t want to become predictable.”

Sam snorted, “Oh please. You’re about as predictable as they come once you get past the unpredictability.”

Gabriel blinked. “Was that supposed to make sense?”

Sam just smirked, “Yup.” The whole time they were talking Sam was writing a note to Dean knowing what coming next, and sure enough, he had no sooner finished the note then he was whisked away to yet another exotic beach. This time he appeared in the same beach clothes he had before. “Got a thing for beaches do you?” He asked Gabriel with an arched eyebrow. 

“Haven’t you figured out by now that I just like getting you out of your clothes Sambo?” Gabriel said with another suggestive wink, and this time he added a suggestive motion with the ever-present lollipop in his mouth.

Sam just sucked in a breath and looked away. He really wished the archangel would stop doing that, especially when he was wearing next to nothing. 

Gabriel noticed how uncomfortable Sam was so decided to lighten the mood. He snapped his fingers and created another pair of snorkel mask sets and said, “Come on. I have something I want to show you,” and wasted no time in running for the water. 

Sam followed at a more sedate pace, hoping Gabriel hadn’t noticed his reaction. All thoughts of annoying suggestive angels was lost in a few minutes though as they happened across the most incredible coral reef Sam had ever seen, not that he had seen any in person, but he had seen pictures, and they had nothing on this. Sam finally just let himself go and have fun. He even chased a few fish. He was having so much fun in fact that he didn’t notice that Gabriel wasn’t with him. 

Gabriel just stayed back and watched Sam playing with the fish and swimming around the reef with a smile on his face. The view was incredible, but so was Sam just letting loose. It was like the burdens were just rolling off his back, and Gabriel was beyond pleased with himself. He would never have Sam like he wanted. His un-comfortability up on the beach proved that, but he could have Sam as a friend, and that would be good enough. 

When Sam finally surfaced because he was tired, he was expecting the hammock landing this time, and so landed gracefully, comparatively. Gabriel once again brought them drinks and conjured up a second hammock next to Sam’s. This time they weren’t interrupted by a phone call, and whiled away the afternoon drinking and talking.


	4. Chapter 4

After getting banged up pretty bad on their next hunt, Sam did call for Gabriel to heal him, even though he felt a little silly getting healed up for relatively minor injuries. He did ask Gabriel to heal Dean too, which he did without argument. Gabriel continued to abduct Sam once or twice a week when they weren’t busy. They went to a few more unknown beaches of course, some fairs which Gabriel in particular enjoyed, and some historical locations which Sam enjoyed more than Gabriel who just enjoyed the look on Sam’s face. Gabriel was even convinced to share some of his more interesting stories from history which Sam listened to with rapt attention, and with every one of these outings it became more and more difficult for Gabriel to keep his feelings under wraps, but he just got more determined. He didn’t want to lose this.

Sam was beginning to realize that he had feelings for Gabriel, but he knew better than to act on them. He wasn’t going to be another notch in the archangel’s belt. He was very familiar with his hedonistic ways, and knew that he was only setting himself up for heartbreak. 

As they always do things came to a head one day on a routine hunt. What they thought was a routine hunt anyway, and turned out to be an ambush. Sam and Dean were separated and Sam was taken down with a knife to his heart. He had just enough time to croak out Gabriel’s name before he died. Dean was two rooms away fighting for his life when he heard an inhuman scream of grief before a white light blasted away all the demons and left Dean seeing stars. It likely would have been much worse if he hadn’t had the presence of mind to close his eyes when the light started. After so long of working with angels that sort of thing became second nature. 

He immediately ran to where he heard the scream and stopped dead in his tracks at the sight. There was Gabriel cradling Sam’s lifeless body to his chest, tears streaming down his face. His mind wasn’t even processing the fact that Sam was dead yet, he was looking at the archangel who looked completely broken. For some reason a conversation he once had with Cas popped into his head about an angel’s tears and how rare they were and that they were very powerful and very treasured. He wondered briefly if an archangel’s tears were more so. He wondered why all these thoughts were popping into his head as he watched the broken archangel cradle his dead brother, and realized that he must be in shock. He should be over there with Sam. That was what it took to get him moving. 

He fell to his knees on the other side of Sam, his own tears now running down his cheeks. As much as he wanted to, he couldn’t bring himself to pull his brother from Gabriel’s arms so he just reached out and ran his hand through his brother’s hair. Gabriel hadn’t even noticed that Dean was there. He couldn’t breathe. It was like all of his tethers to the world had been cut, as he sobbed for his loss. 

Dean reached out his other hand and put it on Gabriel’s shoulder. Gabriel snapped his head up to look at Dean and a new determination rose in his eyes. He gently handed Sam over to his brother and said fiercely, “You keep his body somewhere safe. Don’t burn it. Don’t bury it. I’ll be back as soon as I can.” 

“Gabriel, where are you…” he trailed off as there was no one there to speak to anymore. Dean, despite his injuries and his brother’s size managed to get him into the backseat of the impala and began making his way back to the bunker. He had seen the determination in Gabriel’s eyes and knew that if the archangel had his way, Sam would be back, and he had never known Gabriel not to get his way when he put his mind to it, so his mind turned to analyzing what he had seen. Sam had always denied that there was anything more than friendship between the two of them, and he believed him, but obviously there was more for Gabriel at least. He had never seen anyone so broken, not even himself when Sam had died before. He was now certain that Gabriel was in love with his brother, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that. Sure he could protect Sam, and he had seen for himself over the last months that he could make Sam happy, but still. It was Gabriel. He convinced himself that the fact that Gabriel was a man, or at least in a male vessel wasn’t an issue, and it wasn’t. Not really. Ok so it was a little weird, but he could get over that. The question was, could Sam? Would Sam even want to? 

These thoughts occupied him until he made it back to the bunker and managed to manhandle his brother into the nearest bedroom and laid him out on the bed. He did so as gently as he could, taking Gabriel’s warning to keep his body safe to heart, even though Gabriel could easily heal a few bumps and bruises. Once Sam was settled, Dean left the room. He couldn’t bear to be in the same room with his brother’s dead body, even knowing…no especially knowing that he would be back. 

Dean began losing hope after about 2 weeks though, and he was running out of air-freshener, but he still followed the orders of the archangel and he would until Gabriel came back and told him there was no hope. 

 

Sam was sitting in his nice living room, reading an old book on lore, feeling very unsatisfied. He knew he wasn’t in hell obviously due to the lack of torment, but he was rather disappointed in heaven. For one he was alone. The people he knew and loved came and went, but they were just copies. False imitations that left him feeling more empty and alone than ever. They acted how he wanted them to act, said what he wanted to hear, and were so fake that he could almost feel the emptiness within them. He had gotten used to it after so many years though, so he endured their visits, never quite managing to tell them to go away and not come back. However unsatisfying it was, it was better than nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam was sitting around his heavenly living room on a day just like any other when a visitor popped in wild-eyed, disheveled, and obviously exhausted, but when he turned around and saw Sam his eyes brightened considerably, and he threw himself at the hunter, not even caring anymore if he made him uncomfortable. 

It took Sam a moment to realize that his visitor was Gabriel, especially since he looked so unlike himself. His normally perfectly groomed hair was standing up all over the place and most importantly he held himself differently. He looked defeated and hopeless, and that wasn’t a look he would have ever imagined on the perky mischievous being. It wasn’t until he had his arms full of crying archangel, that he realized it was real. He could feel Gabriel’s presence in a way that he never could any of the copies, and he couldn’t do anything but wrap his own arms around Gabriel too. 

Gabriel suddenly stepped back, looking a bit embarrassed, before he wiped that from his face and put on one of his trademark smirks, but it didn’t have the same flare as Sam remembered. He looked too exhausted and emotional to really pull it off, but he did try. “Well if you’re done lounging around, let’s get you out of here and back to your body lazy-bones,” Gabriel said trying to keep a light-hearted tone, hoping the hunter would forget about his unseemly display when he arrived. 

“How long…?” Sam trailed off unable to finish the question. 

“On Earth just over three weeks. Up here almost eight years,” Gabriel’s voice betrayed his sadness. He was too exhausted to keep up his masks. And with that sadness in his tone, combined with the rest of what he had observed, he was suddenly struck with the idea that Gabriel had been searching for him that entire time. He was proven right when Gabriel added, “And boy are you a hard person to find.” He almost succeeded with the non-chalance that time. 

Sam was too dumbstruck with that realization to do much more than nod and reach his hand out to Gabriel, who took it and that was the last thing Sam knew as his soul was changed back to its base form for transport. Gabriel cradled the ball of light that was Sam’s soul and finally felt free to weep from relief. It had been a long eight years, but he had done it. He had found Sam and he would return him home. 

 

Gabriel reappeared near where he could sense Dean in the bunker, reasoning that being cooped up with his brother’s corpse would make him jumpy and not wanting to set him off if he heard noises from wherever he was keeping Sam. He was right about Dean being jumpy because he nearly got shot when he appeared. Dean then looked at him with his jaw hanging open, or rather he looked at the ball of light in Gabriel’s arms. “Is that…” He couldn’t form anymore words. 

“Yeah. What say we get him back where he belongs?” 

“Um…fair warning…it’s not a pretty sight in there…or a pretty smell. Not much I could do to prevent that.” 

Gabriel just waved off his concern. “I can fix that. I’ll call you when I have and you can come in.” Once Sam’s body was picture perfect again, and of course his clothes were clean and back in one piece, because Gabriel certainly didn’t want Sam to come back to that kind of trauma, he called Dean into the room and began the process of reinserting Sam’s soul and consciousness back into his body. 

It took longer than he thought it would, since it had been so long, but eventually it took. Sam took a deep breath and sat up straight in the bed nearly bumping heads with Dean and Gabriel both. Gabriel took a step back, but Dean just latched onto his brother tightly. Sam buried his head in Dean’s shoulder just breathing in the scent of the real Dean, after so many years of the fake one. He lifted his head to see Gabriel who gave him a smile with tears in his eyes and disappeared. He needed rest and sugar in that order. He’d finally found an archangel’s limits. 

 

It seemed like forever before Sam and Dean let go of each other. Dean turned around to thank Gabriel, but noticed he was gone, so turned his attention back to his brother. He hated to ask but curiosity forced him to, “Do you remember?”

Sam sighed sadly. “Yeah I remember everything. I was in heaven at least so that’s a bonus, but heaven was very disappointing. It was a long eight years.”

“Eight years? You mean…”

“Yeah, time up there apparently works the same as it does in hell. Agonizingly slow.”

“Gabriel spent eight years looking for you,” Dean said in awe. “Now that’s determination.”

Sam looked at his brother, “You shouldn’t have asked him to.”

Dean snorted. “Like I could have stopped him.” At Sam’s puzzled look Dean realized he wasn’t going to be able to get out of this without the whole story. “I found him by your body after you were killed. Dude was inconsolable…sobbing. I’ve never seen anyone so broken. When I went over he handed you to me and ordered me to keep your body safe and accessible and then he disappeared. I didn’t see him again until he came back with you.”

Sam looked like he had been smacked in the head with a hammer. He finally realized that all of Gabriel’s teasing and playfulness wasn’t games. It was a cover-up for his real feelings. Feelings that he really had. For Sam. An archangel for the boy with the demon blood. He thought back over all of their encounters with this new information starting with when he met him as a simple janitor. He had thought the man had been flirting with him, and he might have even been interested, not that he would have admitted it to himself at the time, even before he found out that he was the trickster. But when he found out that he was the trickster he put it out of his mind as another trick. Then came the mystery spot. He had hated him after that, but knowing what happened after, he saw what Gabriel had been trying to prevent, and he understood, but more than that, he remembered the sadness in Gabriel’s eyes when he caught up with him at the end and begged him to bring Dean back, and he had, just because Sam asked. And after TV land, the way he would always look to Sam, and the way he had flinched at Sam’s disappointment. And then in that hotel, where Gabriel died, Sam hadn’t wanted to leave. He wanted to stay and protect Gabriel, but Gabriel was there to protect them, and he certainly remembered the way Gabriel caught his eyes as he was leaving, and looking back he could see that Gabriel was trying to communicate everything to him with that look, but he had been too blind to see it. Everything since they met back up with Gabriel at his resurrection spoke for itself. He had fallen in love with the annoying angel, but had been too afraid to say anything because he didn’t trust Gabriel’s feelings for him. 

He suddenly became aware of Dean snapping his fingers in front of his face, “You all there buddy?” Dean asked reassuringly, but partially afraid that something had gone wrong with the resurrection. 

“Yeah,” Sam said quietly, “just thinking.”

Dean couldn’t help but smirk, knowing now what his brother had been thinking about. “Figured it out didja?” 

Sam’s head snapped up to look at his brother incredulously, “You knew?”

“I suspected before, but I didn’t actually know until you died,” Dean said with a shrug.

“And you’re…ok with it?”

“Well the guy did run himself into the ground to bring you back to life, so yeah. I guess I am.” Dean stood patting Sam’s shoulder. “Come on. You must be starving.”

Sam followed his brother to the kitchen. He considered praying for Gabriel, but remembered how exhausted he looked so decided to let him rest. He would call him tomorrow. He would take today to reconnect with his brother.


	6. Chapter 6

Gabriel heard Sam’s prayer as he was finishing his breakfast sundae. How like the hunter to forget he had his phone number. He rolled his eyes and followed the prayer appearing right next to Sam and was surprised to be engulfed in a hug, but he certainly wasn’t going to complain as he hugged the hunter back. “Thank you Gabriel,” he heard Sam whisper in his ear. “And I’m sorry.” Gabriel stepped back. Kid better not be apologizing for dying or making Gabriel look for him or any of his usual self-deprecating crap or Gabriel was going to knock some sense into him. 

When Sam’s hands stayed on his shoulders, he was surprised and confused. Sam had always kept a cautious distance from him, “What on earth do you have to be sorry for Samsquatch?” 

“For not believing what you were trying to tell me,” Sam said softly moving one of his hands up to Gabriel’s cheek. Gabriel found himself unable to breathe as he realized that his secret was out, and his eyes went wide, but Sam wasn’t pulling away. In fact he stepped closer, and Gabriel felt his heart speed up to that point that if he was human he was sure he would have had a heart attack by now. Sam was beyond nervous, but Gabriel had made the first move, this was on him now. Hell Gabriel had made a hundred first moves. He stepped closer to Gabriel so they were almost pressed against each other. “For not telling you how much I love you,” Gabriel was sure his heart stopped completely, only to start again when he felt his hunter’s lips against his. He put his hands on Sam’s waist and took that last small step so that they were pressed against each other completely as he felt Sam’s hand wind into his hair. When Sam’s tongue darted out, asking for entrance Gabriel willingly opened for him, and kissed him softly and slowly, just drinking in the fact that this was really happening. He had thought he would never have this. 

When Sam’s hands started fumbling with his jacket, trying to get it off, Gabriel put more force into the kiss and took control. He allowed Sam to get his jacket off, before he began tugging at Sam’s shirt. He broke the kiss only long enough to get both of their shirts off before Gabriel spun them around and pinned Sam to the wall, crashing his lips into Sam’s again. Gabriel had, in his many millennia, been with countless men and women, but nothing he ever experienced could compare to the feel of Sam’s naked chest against his. He broke the kiss and began nipping and sucking down Sam’s neck and on to his chest. When he bit down lightly on Sam’s nipple Sam moaned and arched his hips into Gabriel’s drawing a moan from him as well as their erections rubbed together. Gabriel reached a hand around to Sam’s ass holding him there tightly as the both writhed in the pleasure. As suddenly as it started Gabriel let go and put enough distance between them that he could start fumbling with the button on Sam’s jeans. He would never admit that he was fumbling of course, but he was just too excited to be efficient. It seemed like forever before he managed to get Sam’s pants down, and Sam stepped out of them as he was working on Gabriel’s. The moment their naked arousals touched it was ecstasy, and Gabriel pinned Sam to the wall again. He was kissing the taller man forcefully, while one hand was tangled in his hair and the other playing with Sam’s nipple. 

Gabriel then spun them around again and crashed them into the bed all without breaking contact. Gabriel again turned attention to Sam’s neck and chest, but kept moving down. Gabriel was close to coming just from the sounds the hunter was making under him, but he help himself in check. He eventually made it down to his prize, and licked his tongue up the long shaft, making Sam tremble and thrust his hips up. Gabriel grinned and licked the pre-cum off the head of Sam’s dick drawing a low moan from the hunter. “Please Gabe…Oh God please…” Gabriel nearly lost his composure at that, but he reined it in. He was going to make this last, draw every second of pleasure out of this moment that he could, but he did give into Sam’s begging and took him into his mouth. 

Sam’s breath hitched and he was suddenly lost in the wave of sensation. With as often as Gabriel had something in his mouth, he really shouldn’t be surprised that he was so good at this, but God! Sam had never felt anything like it before. Sam didn’t even notice when Gabriel’s hand moved backwards and a finger pressed at his entrance, but when that finger entered him, Sam suddenly found a while new high of pleasure, as Gabriel just pressed against Sam’s prostate. Gabriel soon added a second finger, and then a third working Sam open for what was coming next. 

Gabriel couldn’t take much more. Sam’s moaning and keening was driving him crazy. He needed to be inside Sam. He needed it like he needed air, and finally Sam was ready. He released Sam’s dick from his mouth and removed his fingers from Sam’s ass, reveling in the sound of want that Sam made at his withdrawal. “Please Gabe…in me…please…” Sam begged, and Gabriel had no intention of ignoring such a request as he lined himself up with Sam’s entrance. He pressed in slowly, fully aware that this was Sam’s first time, and taking every ounce of self-control he had not to just ram into the hunter furiously. 

Once he was fully seated he bent down and kissed Sam gently waiting for him to adjust to the fullness. When Sam’s hips bucked Gabriel moaned and began moving, slowly at first, keeping the right angle to hit Sam’s prostate with each thrust as he watched the hunter slowly become undone beneath him. He realized that he wasn’t going to last nearly as long as he wanted to so he reached down and began stroking Sam in time with his thrusts, which were rapidly speeding up, and he could feel himself getting close. Sam cried out, “Oh...Gabe…Ahh” as he reached his release, and then Gabriel was gone too, the clenching around him pulled him over the edge as well as he spilled his seed inside Sam. 

They both stilled for a moment looking into each other’s eyes and catching their breath before Gabriel slowly pulled out and climbed over to lay next to Sam and placed his head on his chest as Sam’s arm pulled him close. “I love you Sammy,” Gabriel whispered lifting he head to give his hunter a slow lazy kiss. 

“I love you too Gabe,” he whispered back as he drifted off to sleep. Gabriel had never been one to be still for long, but as he lay there on the sleeping hunter, there was no place he would rather be.


End file.
